Right Stuff vs. Food Porn

March 2012

Right Stuff

SAFE SNAX

"I had no time to get real
food." "It's better than a doughnut, bag of chips, or candy bar." There are lots of reasons why people grab an energy (or granola or cereal) bar.

Well, now you can eat real food without
any fuss. Ready Pac's new line of Ready Snax offers half a dozen options
to hold you over 'til your next meal without a trip to the vending machine.

The Veggie, Cheese & Pretzel Snack Pac pairs carrots and grapes with enough cheddar to supply 5 grams of protein and 10 percent of a day's calcium (but just 2½ grams of saturated fat). The half-dozen minipretzels could be better (they're mostly white flour), but at least they don't add much salt. The entire 150-calorie snack has just 130 mg of sodium.

"Creations" like this come "from
the fresh herb gardens, to the
chefs' hands, to the villa's table."

Really?

Does Buitoni get its powdered chicken broth, cornstarch, brown sugar, whey, dextrose, and xanthan gum from the herb garden?

That's not to say that Buitoni's creation is unnatural. It's filled with natural milk, cheeses, cream, and butter, which helps supply each serving with 15 grams of saturated fat (three-quarters of a day's worth). Add in the white-flour pasta, and you've logged 560 calories seasoned with 1,070 milligrams of sodium (two-thirds of a day's max). Maybe that's why Buitoni calls it a "complete meal."

The Grilled Chicken & Spinach Cannelloni is
part of a line of 12 "artisan quality Italian meals for two," like Shrimp & Lobster Ravioli,
Braised Beef & Sausage Ravioli, and Grilled
Vegetable & Goat Cheese Agnolotti. Each
has roughly 300 to 600 calories and 600 to
1,500 mg of sodium.

"Sit down and savor," urges Buitoni. Go
ahead. Just don't be surprised if you end up
too stuffed to get up.